In 1991, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) was passed by the United Stated Congress and signed into law. One provision of the TCPA prevents automated telephone equipment from dialing any telephone number assigned to a paging service, cellular telephone service, specialized mobile radio service, or other radio common carrier service, or any service for which the called party is charged for the call without the prior express consent of the called party. Thus, there is a need for a system to determine whether a merchant has permission to contact a customer via automated telephone equipment.